J 



J 



198 The Irish Naturalist. July, 



Migration of the White Wagtail. 



The passage of the White Wagtail {Motacilla alba) up the west coast of 



Ireland to its breeding haunts in Iceland and Faroe, is evident from the 



fact that I received three from the west coast of Donegal, which were 



obtained during the first week of May this year. 



R. M. Barrington. 

 Fassaroe, Bray. 



Swallows in March. 



The arrival of the Swallow {Hirundo rtistica) is seldom observed in 

 Ireland before April, but in 1903 it has appeared over a wide area in 

 March, and in each of the following ^ases my kind informants assure 

 me that it was the Swallow, not the Sand-Martin, that they saw at the 

 following dates and places : — 



March 17, Daramona, Co. Westmeath. 



„ 22, Mountjoy vSquare, Dublin. 

 ,, ,, Dalkey, Co. Dublin. 



„ 23, Swords, „ 



„ „ Newry, Co. Down. 



,, 26, Ivisburn, Co. Antrim. 



,, 28, Castleconnell, Co, Ivimerick. 



„ „ Knockloug, „ 



,, 30, Kilcock, Co. Kildare. 



31, Newbridge, 

 The Sand-Mairtin was heard at Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, on 22nd 

 March. 



R. J, USSHER. 

 Cappagh. 



Iceland Gull in Co. Londonderry. 



On April 20th Colonel H. S. B. Bruce picked up on the shore of Lough 

 Beo- a dead gull, which he sent by post to the Belfast Museum. The 

 following day it came into my hands. It was a fine adult Iceland Gull 

 {Lams hucopterns), in beautiful plumage. Unfortunately it was too long 

 dead to be mounted, but Mr. S. M. Stears kindly skinned it for me so 

 that it can be examined by anyone interested. I had never seen an 

 Iceland Gull " in the flesh " before. 



Robert Patterson. 



Belfast. 



The Great Bustard in Ireland. 



Messrs. Williams and Sou record in the Zoologist for April the occur- 

 rence of two Great Bustards in Co. Tipperary in December last year, 

 one being shot. But the recent liberation of a number of Great 

 Bustards in Norfolk seriously affects the value of what would otherwise 

 be a new record for Ireland. To put it mildly, it is a singular coincidence 

 that theyfrj-/ appearance of the species in Ireland should so closely follow 

 its deliberate introduction into England, 



